Ion thruster for thrust vectored propulsion of a spacecraft

Abstract

The disclosed subject matter relates to an ion thruster for thrust vectored propulsion of a spacecraft, comprising a reservoir for a propellant, an emitter having a base and, on one side of the base, at least one outlet for emitting ions of the propellant, wherein the base is connected to the reservoir for providing flow of propellant from the reservoir to said at least one outlet, and an extractor facing said one side of the emitter for extracting and accelerating the ions from the emitter, wherein the extractor is split into sectors about an axis which orthogonally runs through said one side of the emitter, wherein said sectors are electrically insulated from one another.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An ion thruster for thrust vectored propulsion of a spacecraft, comprising:
 a reservoir for a propellant, 
 an emitter having a base and, on one side of the base, one or more outlets for emitting ions of the propellant, wherein the base is connected to the reservoir for providing flow of propellant from the reservoir to the one or more outlets, and 
 an extractor facing said one side of the emitter for extracting and accelerating the ions from the emitter, wherein the emitter and the extractor form a common acceleration chamber containing all outlets of the emitter, 
 wherein the extractor has a single aperture for the passage of the ions emitted from all outlets of the emitter, wherein the aperture of the extractor is symmetrical about an axis which orthogonally runs through said one side of the emitter, and wherein the extractor is split into sectors in circumferential direction around the axis, said sectors being electrically insulated from one another. 
 
     
     
       2. The ion thruster according to  claim 1 , wherein the extractor is split into three sectors. 
     
     
       3. The ion thruster according to  claim 1 , wherein the emitter is made of a porous material which is wetting in respect to the propellant. 
     
     
       4. The ion thruster according to  claim 1 , wherein two or more outlets are arranged in a circular symmetry about said axis and all sectors span an equal angle about said axis. 
     
     
       5. The ion thruster according to  claim 4 , wherein the emitter has a plurality of outlets arranged in a single circle on the base about said axis. 
     
     
       6. The ion thruster according to  claim 1 , wherein each of said one or more outlets is a projection on said one side of the base. 
     
     
       7. The ion thruster according to  claim 6 , wherein the projection is needle-shaped. 
     
     
       8. An ion thruster for thrust vectored propulsion of a spacecraft, comprising:
 a reservoir for a propellant, 
 an emitter having a base and, on one side of the base, two or more outlets for emitting ions of the propellant, wherein the base is connected to the reservoir for providing flow of propellant from the reservoir to the two or more outlets, and 
 an extractor facing said one side of the emitter for extracting and accelerating the ions from the emitter, wherein the emitter and the extractor form a common acceleration chamber containing all outlets of the emitter, 
 wherein the extractor has a separate aperture for each outlet of the emitter for the passage of the ions emitted from each said outlet and wherein the extractor is split into sectors about an axis which orthogonally runs through said one side of the emitter, said sectors being electrically insulated from one another and each sector being allocated to one or more of the outlets. 
 
     
     
       9. The ion thruster according to  claim 8 , wherein the extractor is split symmetrically about the axis. 
     
     
       10. The ion thruster according to  claim 8 , wherein the emitter is made of a porous material which is wetting in respect to the propellant. 
     
     
       11. The ion thruster according to  claim 8 , wherein the emitter has a plurality of outlets arranged on the base in straight rows and columns or in a circular symmetry about said axis. 
     
     
       12. The ion thruster according to  claim 11 , wherein the extractor is split into four equal sectors, each of which being allocated to the same number of outlets. 
     
     
       13. The ion thruster according to  claim 8 , wherein each of said two or more outlets is a projection on said one side of the base. 
     
     
       14. The ion thruster according to  claim 13 , wherein the projection is needle-shaped.